Quotes by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
He who has a task to perform must know how to take sides, or he is quite unworthy of it.
Beauty is a manifestation of secret natural laws, which otherwise would have been hidden from us forever.
Nothing is more fearful than imagination without taste.
Hatred is active, and envy passive dislike; there is but one step from envy to hate.
Deeply earnest and thoughtful people stand on shaky footing with the public.
As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.
He is happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home.
Fresh activity is the only means of overcoming adversity.
The right man is the one who seizes the moment.
What is important in life is life, and not the result of life.
Every step of life shows much caution is required.
Love does not dominate; it cultivates.
Trust yourself, then you will know how to live.
A clever man commits no minor blunders.
The formation of one's character ought to be everyone's chief aim.
Nothing is more terrible than to see ignorance in action.
Alas! sorrow from happiness is oft evolved.
The Christian religion, though scattered and abroad will in the end gather itself together at the foot of the cross.
A person places themselves on a level with the ones they praise.
Talent develops in quiet places, character in the full current of human life.
Certain flaws are necessary for the whole. It would seem strange if old friends lacked certain quirks.
Self-knowledge comes from knowing other men.
He only earns his freedom and his life Who takes them every day by storm.
There is nothing in the world more shameful than establishing one's self on lies and fables.
There is a courtesy of the heart; it is allied to love. From its springs the purest courtesy in the outward behavior.
